Seattle Symphony Orchestra INC

Tax-deductible

Seattle, WA501(c)(3)Since 1903Arts & CultureEIN 91-0667412

To present symphonic music of the highest quality in a distinctive way for the cultural enrichment, education, engagement and enjoyment of the people of our community.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
79¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
Run by 445 volunteers and 622 employees.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · People: Part I, lines 5–6

Before you give

FY2024 · Form 990Independent: from IRS data, not the org
Download 990
IRS status
501(c)(3)
not on the IRS revocation list
Looks good: listed by the IRS and not on the revocation list.
IRS BMF · Auto-Revocation List
Tax-deductible gifts
Yes
Donations are tax-deductible
Looks good: the IRS lists gifts to it as deductible.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS BMF
Latest return
FY2024
latest Form 990
Looks good: the latest return is for FY2024, 2 tax years back; within 2 tax years.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
2 of 5
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $364K a year · 1% of revenue · last 5 filings
Worth a look: a surplus in 2 of the last 5 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 5 filings
Spent on programs
79%
of spending
Looks good: 79% of spending went to programs; 75% or more.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$2.8M
to officers and key staff · 7% of spending
Top officer’s pay higher than 78% of similar orgs
Looks good: pay to officers and key staff is 7% of spending; 15% or less.
Pt VII · Sec A
Cash reserves
<1 mo
of spending, in cash
Concern: 0.2 months of spending in cash; under 2 weeks.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
38
named funders · $10.4M
Looks good: 38 funders name it on their filings; 3 or more.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$16.0M
87% of total assets
Concern: liabilities are 87% of assets; over 80%.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
36
of 36 voting members
Looks good: 36 of 36 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$38.1M
+22% vs prior year
Spent
$40.2M
To programs
79%
Net assets
$2.4M
By yearFY2020–FY2024
Revenue
$38.1M
FY2024▲ +22%
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$30.2M
FY2021$30.2M
FY2022$28.0M
FY2023$31.3M
FY2024$31.1M
FY2024$38.1M
Expenses
$40.2M
FY2024▲ +8%
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$28.9M
FY2021$18.4M
FY2022$30.0M
FY2023$34.4M
FY2024$37.3M
FY2024$40.2M
Net assets
$2.4M
FY2024▼ -44%
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020−$4.3M
FY2021$12.2M
FY2022$9.8M
FY2023$9.0M
FY2024$4.3M
FY2024$2.4M

From the FY2024 Form 990 · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

Give Claim

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2024. IRS ruling in Jun 1928.

IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File

Where the money goes

79 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 79% · $31.7M Management & general 14% · $5.8M Fundraising 7% · $2.8M

Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.

Who runs it and what they're paid

51 people listed on the 990; $2.8M paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
President & CEO
$492,915Pt VII · Sec A
Concertmaster
$319,838Pt VII · Sec A
Acting CEO & VP of Development
$278,156Pt VII · Sec A
CFO & Benaroya Hall COO
$275,624Pt VII · Sec A
$186,398Pt VII · Sec A
Musician
$185,551Pt VII · Sec A
$185,073Pt VII · Sec A
Stage Crew Lead
$182,706Pt VII · Sec A

Krishna Thiagarajan’s $493K as President & CEO is at the 78th percentile of top reported officer pay among 749 $10–100M arts & culture nonprofits. Peer set: organizations in the same NTEE major field of work and revenue-size band, compared on each org’s own highest-paid officer/key-employee, from Form 990 Part VII / 990-PF Part VIII. Descriptive placement, not a verdict on whether the pay is appropriate.

Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 8 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2024FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Krishna Thiagarajan$492,915$507,666$482,796$571,322$304,172$415,671
Ludovic Morlot—————$357,749
Thomas Dausgaard————$339,466—
Noah Geller$319,838$301,679$280,453$151,675—$265,522
Maria Yang$278,156$277,996$249,744$240,660$170,026—
Cheronne Wong$275,624$277,672$234,561$238,688$159,294$169,677
Jennifer Adair$186,398$189,529$187,171$187,171$136,103$145,423
Hyerin Kim$185,551$164,735————

Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.

See Seattle Symphony Orchestra INC executive salaries →

Are you one of these people? Claim this org to confirm your role

Questions the 990 asks

The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.

  • Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2No
  • Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes

Programs and updates

Performs symphonic music and hosts educational programs, youth concerts, and community events to connect and inspire people throughout the Puget Sound region.

Provided by the organization

This section is blank until Seattle Symphony Orchestra INC claims this page.

Know this organization? Claim it to add your story

2 program services account for $31.7M of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2024.
01

The seattle symphony is one of america's leading orchestras and is internationally acclaimed for its innovative programming and extensive recording history. The 2024-2025 season saw increased audiences with 227,623 attending in person.

$31.0Mprogram expense
02

For educational and community engagement programming in addition to digital content delivered through the streaming platform, attendance in the 24/25 season saw 35,609 students and families over 180 events including offsite events throughout the puget sound region.

$697Kprogram expense

Run this program? Claim this org to tell your story

Funders

Who pays for it.

From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.

Grants

Schedule I · received and paid
Grants received · FY2024
See all 38 funders →
Grants paid · 6 grants · $2.1M · 2019–2024
B H Music CenterWA · FY2024$350,004
B H Music CenterWA · FY2023$350,004
B H Music CenterWA · FY2022$360,254
B H Music CenterWA · FY2021$350,004
B H Music CenterWA · FY2020$350,000
B H Music CenterWA · FY2019$350,000

By the numbers

The FY2024 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$38.1M
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$20.5M
Fees for servicesLn 2g$17.4M
Investment incomeLn 3$206K
Money outPt IX
$40.2M
Ln 25
Programscol B$31.7M
Managementcol C$5.8M
Fundraisingcol D$2.8M
Owns and owesPt X
$2.4M
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$722K
Total assetsLn 16$18.4M
LiabilitiesLn 26$16.0M
PeoplePt VI, VII
51
listed · VII A
PaidVII A12
Voting boardVI 1a36
IndependentVI 1b36
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$20.5M
Government grantsLn 1e$720K
Noncash giftsLn 1g$883K
Fundraising eventsLn 1c$1.6M
Fees for servicesLn 2g$17.4M
Investment incomeLn 3$206K
Gains on assetsLn 7$1K
Total revenueLn 12$38.1M
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$678K
SavingsLn 2$43K
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$722K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$6.1M
Other assetsLn 15$6.2M
Total assetsLn 16$18.4M
LiabilitiesLn 26$16.0M
Net assetsLn 32$2.4M
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 5622
VolunteersI 6445
Fiscal year endsHeaderDecember
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aYes
Whistleblower policyVI 13Yes
Records policyVI 14Yes
3Year over year
Balance sheet, start vs end of yearPt X · col A, B
LineStart FY24End FY24
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$428K$722K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$6.2M$6.1M
Total assetsLn 16$19.0M$18.4M
LiabilitiesLn 26$14.8M$16.0M
Net assetsLn 32$4.3M$2.4M
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1$350K$350K
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$2.0M$1.1M$671K$265K
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$20.3M$17.9M$1.2M$1.2M
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$806K$720K$40K$45K
Other employee benefitsLn 9$5.6M$4.8M$388K$385K
Payroll taxesLn 10$2.0M$1.6M$251K$142K
Legal feesLn 11b$934K$28K$906K
Accounting feesLn 11c$433K$5K$407K$22K
Lobbying feesLn 11d$54K$54K
Investment management feesLn 11f$128$128
Advertising and promotionLn 12$1.6M$1.4M$94K$79K
Office expensesLn 13$949K$438K$119K$392K
Information technologyLn 14$636K$74K$560K$2K
RoyaltiesLn 15$212K$212K
OccupancyLn 16$363K$188K$172K$3K
TravelLn 17$448K$428K$8K$12K
InterestLn 20$419K$419K
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$235K$235K
InsuranceLn 23$85K$47K$38K
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$2.8M$2.4M$183K$222K
All other expensesLn 24e$60K$7K$48K$6K
Total functional expensesLn 25$40.2M$31.7M$5.8M$2.8M

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2024 $31.1M$37.3M−$6.2M$4.3M 990 PDF
FY2023 $31.3M$34.4M−$3.1M$9.0M 990 PDF
FY2022 $28.0M$30.0M−$2.0M$9.8M 990 PDF
FY2021 $30.2M$18.4M$11.8M$12.2M 990 PDF
FY2020 $30.2M$28.9M$1.4M−$4.3M 990 PDF

Want to add your own materials alongside these filings? Claim this org

Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
See the full FY2024 990 (4 parts)
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $38,088,654 across 13 lines filed
Lines not itemized here account for $39,412 of total revenue; see the IRS return.
VIII-1c Fundraising events$1,571,128
VIII-1d Related organizations$4,099,440
VIII-1e Government grants$720,500
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$14,138,737
VIII-1g Noncash contributions (included above)$882,899
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$20,529,805
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $16,875,322 · Unrelated business $562,412$17,437,734
VIII-3 Investment incomeExcluded from tax $204,604$204,604
VIII-5 RoyaltiesExcluded from tax $6,394$6,394
VIII-7 Net gain or loss on sales of assetsExcluded from tax $1,142$1,142
VIII-8 Net income from fundraising eventsExcluded from tax −$140,709−$140,709
VIII-11a-d Other revenue, itemized rows (sum of 11a–11d as filed)Related to mission $4,071 · Excluded from tax $6,201$10,272
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $16,879,393 · Unrelated business $572,196 · Excluded from tax $107,260$38,088,654
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $40,232,219 across 21 lines filed
IX-1 Grants to domestic organizationsPrograms $350,004$350,004
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $1,095,778 · Management $670,831 · Fundraising $265,356$2,031,965
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $17,896,977 · Management $1,209,480 · Fundraising $1,175,730$20,282,187
IX-8 Pension plan contributionsPrograms $720,381 · Management $40,462 · Fundraising $44,762$805,605
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $4,789,093 · Management $387,810 · Fundraising $385,458$5,562,361
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $1,600,234 · Management $250,705 · Fundraising $142,319$1,993,258
IX-11b Legal feesPrograms $27,950 · Management $906,057$934,007
IX-11c Accounting feesPrograms $4,600 · Management $406,660 · Fundraising $21,970$433,230
IX-11d Lobbying feesManagement $54,000$54,000
IX-11f Investment management feesManagement $128$128
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $1,381,991 · Management $94,282 · Fundraising $78,696$1,554,969
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $437,716 · Management $118,771 · Fundraising $392,168$948,655
IX-14 Information technologyPrograms $73,794 · Management $560,384 · Fundraising $2,169$636,347
IX-15 RoyaltiesPrograms $211,865$211,865
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $187,611 · Management $172,424 · Fundraising $2,675$362,710
IX-17 TravelPrograms $428,396 · Management $7,881 · Fundraising $12,188$448,465
IX-20 InterestManagement $418,578$418,578
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationManagement $234,569$234,569
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $46,877 · Management $37,860$84,737
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $2,420,007 · Management $182,647 · Fundraising $221,660$2,824,314
IX-24e All other expensesPrograms $6,687 · Management $47,550 · Fundraising $6,028$60,265
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $31,679,961 · Management $5,801,079 · Fundraising $2,751,179$40,232,219
Part X · Balance sheet $18,381,220 assets, 17 lines filed
Asset lines not itemized here account for $1,181,339; see the IRS return.
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $384,772$678,481
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investmentsStart of year $43,228$43,231
X-3 Pledges and grants receivableStart of year $3,153,330$2,913,932
X-4 Accounts receivableStart of year $514,937$640,009
X-8 Inventories for sale or useStart of year $229,851$228,102
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $581,450$398,136
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $6,246,436$6,128,175
X-15 Other assetsStart of year $6,739,765$6,169,815
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $19,047,917$18,381,220
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $1,972,349$2,244,181
X-19 Deferred revenueStart of year $6,572,103$6,300,963
X-25 Other liabilitiesStart of year $1,019,382$1,019,382
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $14,787,807$15,994,464
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year −$5,407,382−$6,141,979
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictionsStart of year $9,667,492$8,528,735
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $4,260,110$2,386,756
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $19,047,917$18,381,220
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $2,386,756 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$38,088,654
XI-2 Total expenses$40,232,219
XI-3 Revenue less expenses−$2,143,565
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$4,260,110
XI-9 Other changes in net assets$270,211
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$2,386,756

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2024 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

Similar organizations you could support · Compare with another nonprofit

Names, privacy, and removal requests More

The names, titles, and compensation shown on this page are reproduced from IRS Form 990 filings, which are public records.

Philanthropy.org does not alter the content of those filings. All information appears exactly as reported by the filing organization for the tax year shown.

We publish only information contained in the public IRS filing — and less than the filing contains. Our profile pages do not display street addresses, telephone numbers, personal email addresses, or other personal contact information, even where the filing includes them.

Many people share the same name. A name shown on this page reflects only what one organization reported in one IRS filing for one tax year. It should not be interpreted as identifying any other individual with the same or a similar name.

If you are no longer affiliated with the organization, your name will generally stop appearing in future IRS filings once the organization no longer reports you. Pages for tax years in which you were reported remain published because those filings remain part of the public record.

Philanthropy.org does not alter or remove IRS filing records. Removing a page from this website would not remove the underlying IRS filing, which remains publicly available from the IRS and other publishers of the same information.

If you believe the IRS filing itself is inaccurate, corrections must be made by the filing organization or the IRS directly.

If you ARE the filing organization, claim this org and add context

Made it to the end? Claim this organization

Keep this kind of thing free
Keep public charity data easy to read.

Free to the public, because obviously. Like this? Pay it forward. Don't like this? Help us get better.

Card, Apple Pay or Google Pay through Stripe. One time.
Keep this kind of thing free
Keep public charity data easy to read.

Free to the public, because obviously. Like this? Pay it forward. Don't like this? Help us get better.

Card, Apple Pay or Google Pay through Stripe. One time.

All figures are derived from public IRS Form 990 filings and are presented without evaluation of any organization. philanthropy.org does not rate, score, or rank organizations, including the pay comparisons above.